He Hadn't Told Her
by Funkywatermelon
Summary: Manny wakes up in the middle of the night from ANOTHER nightmare, what's a guy to do? Also, what is Ellie going to think of his predicament? Manny/Ellie, Crash/OC, Eddie/OC


Hey All! Well, I'm in college now and my family has decided to take a trip without me for spring break! SO, to pass the time until they return, I have decided to write an Ice Age oneshot to celebrate the upcoming release of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Ice Age does not belong to me, this means that Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, Crash and Eddie are not my creations; however, Rose and Lily ARE my creations!!!

He hadn't told her. Perhaps this was why Manfred Carbuckle had just woken up from the same nightmare for the 600th night in a row. Perhaps this was why this horrible dream had returned to haunt him once more after a long and happy absence.

The night after Manny had lost Millie and Wally was the night that the first version of the nightmare had made its introduction into his life. It basically retold the events that had happened earlier that day with excruciating detail. From the moment when Manny and his family were happily relaxing and enjoying the spring day until the moment of the rockfall that caused the death of Manfred's first family. After the nightmare failed to vanish once he had met his friends Sid and Diego and managed to at least explain to them what had happened, Manny was positive that the nightmare would never go away, but then, about three years after he met his pals and five years after the nightmare had started (five years in which he had this dream every single night) a miracle happened.

He wasn't really sure why he had met Eleanore Mitchelson, or even if there were creatures somewhere up in the sky who thought that it would be interesting to see them get into a relationship. But he was sure of one thing, the night after he met Ellie was the first night that he did not have that horrendous nightmare. This was one of the main changes in his life that convinced him that he had made the right decision when, only a month after meeting her, he decided to ask Ellie to be his mate. He was overjoyed when she said yes and she happily accepted the name of Eleanore Carbuckle with the extreme enthusiasm that was commonplace with her and which he was still trying to get used to today. He was happy, happier than he had been in a very long time. With the nightmare finally gone from his routine, Manfred was finally able to go to sleep without worrying about scaring his friends with his nightly terrors. But three years after the nightmare vanished, something happened, Ellie became pregnant.

Now, Manny was ecstatic about being a father again, he very much missed being able to raise a child and have a little soul depending on him. But the night after she had told him about her pregnancy the same nightmare that he thought was finally gone after so many years of being alone had returned, with a horrible change in the plot. Instead of Millie and Wally being the ones who were pummeled with rocks at the end of the nightmare, it was now Ellie and an unnamed calf's turn to be the ones at the bottom of the cliff. This dream now once again haunted him every single night. Manny looked around at his 'family' to make sure that he didn't wake anyone up. Sid was still making his usual nighttime noises and movements on his piece of tree bark, so he was still asleep. Diego seemed to be dreaming about a hunt or perhaps having some payback on the possums who had played some rather nasty pranks on them earlier in the day. Thinking of his two mischievous brother in laws, Manny looked up in the tree to his side and smiled to himself when he noticed that they were both hanging from a low branch by their tails sleeping peacefully, their small bodies blowing ever so slightly in the midnight breeze. Contrary to what most creatures thought about the possum species, these two brothers were the least lazy creatures that Manny had ever met. And their sister's enthusiasm and active personality was certainly a result of their lifestyle rubbing off onto her.

Thinking of Ellie, Manny looked to his side and failed to hide the mammoth sized smile that came upon his face when he looked at his mate. Ellie had luckily decided to sleep on the ground with him not shortly after he had saved her from drowning back in Acorn Valley during the even which he and his friends now called 'The Meltdown', but instead of sleeping on her stomach, with her head resting against his and trunk locked with his, Ellie now slept on her side, with her growing belly facing him. Manny gently brushed some of her wild hair out of her face and gave her trunk an affectionate squeeze. He knew he probably should have told her when they had first met about his first family, and what had happened to them. But he didn't want Ellie to feel like she had to measure up to anyone, like she had to be someone that she wasn't. He loved her for who she was and he wanted her to stay that way. So, he hadn't told her about Millie and Wally, a decision that he now knew was probably not the best thing that he could have done.

"I promise, I won't let the same thing happen to you?" Manfred whispered to her before he put his head back down in hopes of falling asleep again.

"Wha?" A soft and tired voice asked, making Manny's eyes open wide. Apparently his wife was more awake than he thought that she was. He pretended to be asleep, hoping that she would eventually think that her mind (or her brothers) were playing tricks on her and she would go back to sleep. Unfortunately for the bull, Ellie was smarter than that.

"Manny?" she asked quietly "Are you awake?"

"I am now." Manfred responded, pretending to have just woken up.

"Did-did you say something?" Ellie asked him, her green eyes glowing with curiosity in the light of the full moon.

"What are you talking about Ellie?" he asked her, hoping to convince her to forget this whole thing had ever happened.

"I swear I heard you say something!" Ellie said determinedly, she knew that her mate had been waking up in the middle of the night for some time now, and she wanted to know why.

"It must have just been your imagination." Manfred told her "Why don't you just go to sleep ok?" He affectionately stroked her cheek with his trunk to try and chip away at her stubbornness.

"Why are you up then?" Ellie asked him cleverly as she gave him an 'I got you this time' look.

"I uhhh, the kid, it uhh, it kicked and it umm, it woke me up!" Manfred said. And he wasn't lying too much, his and Ellie's calf was quite the rambunctious little youngster and had been kicking like they were having a temper tantrum all times of the day. Since Ellie would sleep with her stomach touching his side, if the calf kicked hard enough, he would feel it as well.

"Oh really?" Ellie asked him, she knew better than that. Sure Manny had a good excuse, but she wanted to be sure that he wasn't hiding something else, he had always been a bit protective of her but recently he had been even more protective than usual, and she was determined to figure out why. But the exhausted look on her husband's face changed her mind, he seemed to be very tired, so she decided it would be best to confront him about it in the morning. She gently began stroking the length of his trunk with hers as she nuzzled him lovingly. When she heard a deep sigh of contentment, she smiled even more.

"Tired big guy?" she asked.

"You have no idea." Manfred replied. The day's activities had truly worn the poor pachyderm out. Ellie gently gave Manny's trunk a squeeze of affection as she looked at him with love in her eyes.

"Well then maybe you should get some sleep, ok?" Manny smiled.

"I'll do that." He said as the soft waves of sleep finally took over his body and he was once again fast asleep. Smiling, Ellie looked over at the rest of the group who also seemed to be fast asleep. She sighed a bit as she looked over at her brothers. They had wanted to go and try to find their long lost girlfriends Rose and Lily earlier today but because of her pregnancy, Ellie had to tell the boys that they would have to wait. An answer that they certainly did not enjoy. Ellie sighed even louder as she remembered the sad events that had caused them to be apart.

_Ellie laughed at her possum father's joke as Crash and Eddie ran into the clearing for the 'urgent' meeting that had been called by their mother, Abbigail. _

"_Well now." Abbigail said looking at her sons with disdain "It's nice to see that you have finally decided to join us Cornelius and Edward." Ellie and her father, Harold laughed as horrified looks appeared on Crash and Eddie's faces at the mention of their actual names._

"_Ok, that's enough guys." Harold said after having had a good laugh "Seriously, we have some news for you kids that should be quite interesting." Immediately Crash, Eddie and Ellie's faces came a bit forward in excitement as to what the news could be. Abbigail smiled at her children's enthusiasm._

"_Well." She said "You know how so many families are leaving this valley?" she asked. Ellie, being the smartest one in the family couldn't help but roll her eyes._

"_Yes momma." She said "With the drought, there's no water here, so creatures are leaving this valley to go to others with more water." Crash and Eddie both stuck their tongues out at her as she gave a 'told you so!' look._

"_Well, that's very good Eleanore, you are right about the drought, and that's why we are going to be leaving as well, first thing in the morning!" Abbigail told her children, while Harold stood there with a proud look on his face. Ellie, Crash and Eddie all gasped. _

_"But, but we can't leave!" Eddie said frantically "What about Lily?"_

_"And Rose!" Crash reminded his brother "What are we gonna do about them mom?"_

_"Well, you boys are coming weather you like it or not, but I don't see any harm in bringing them along, if their parents will allow it!" Crash and Eddie both cheered and gave each other a high five as they ran out of the cave to go and find their girlfriends and invite them on the trip._

_Three hours later the two boys came back smiling hugely. Ellie grinned as her brothers sat down beside her and began to warm up by the fire that their father had built._

_"So, how'd it go?" Ellie asked them._

_"Lily says that she's definitely coming!" Eddie said cheerfully. He couldn't be more relieved, Lily had come down a few summers before for a visit and ended up forming a summer romance with Eddie, unfortunately at the end of that summer she had to leave and go back to her usual home, a few hours away, fortunately however, she had decided to come back a few weeks later, so she and Eddie had been inseparable ever since._

_"Rose is coming too!" Crash said equally cheerfully. While theirs wasn't a summer romance, Crash and Rose had been the 'it couple' back when they were in school and had managed to stay together for several years. Ellie smiled, knowing this was a huge step in both of her brothers' relationships._

_The night passed with Crash Eddie and Ellie staying up late, talking excitedly about the trip the next morning. Sadly though, when Crash and Eddie headed out with Harold to pick up Rose and Lily, they only returned with Lily and Crash was walking slowly along, kicking the leaves on the ground, muttering incoherent nothings to himself. _

_"What happened poppa?" Ellie asked her father as Eddie and Lily talked excitedly about the trip. _

_"Turns out Rose didn't ask her parents about going with us after all. They found out this morning when we came to pick her up and they wouldn't let her leave." He explained._

_"So, we're just gonna leave without her?" Ellie asked a hint of shock in her voice._

_"We have to." Harold told her "There's no other way." Ellie looked sympathetically at her brother who was now sniffling and wiping his eyes with his arm, trying to hide his tears. After a while of talking with his parents, Crash finally disgruntelly decided to come along on the trip. Unfortunately, when the family was about to leave, Lily's mother came running into the clearing._

_"Hey mom!" Lily said cheerfully as she jumped down from her traveling spot on the top of Ellie's back so she could give her a goodbye hug. "You come to say goodbye?"_

_"Lily, sweetheart, I am so sorry." Her mother said "But I misunderstood, I thought Eddie's family was only going to be gone for a short time. But I went to your friend Rose's house to pay a visit to her mother and she told me that you guys would not be coming back here._

_"B-but I told you that last night mom!" Lily said, her voice beginning to tremble.  
"Lily, sweetie, you should have been more clear, I'm sorry but I'm afraid you won't be able to join them after all!" Her mom explained, Lily's (and Eddie's) eyes began to fill with tears._

_"You-you said I could go, you said I could go!" Lily tried to reason with her mother who instead of talking it over with her daughter, decided to take her by the hand and simply guide her away from the clearing. "EDDIE!" the poor girl called out in a last ditch effort to come along._

_"LILY!" Eddie called back as he jumped off of Ellie's back and began to run in the direction of his love. Abbigail gave Ellie a look that said that it was too late, and that the family needed to get going. So, not being one to disobey her parent's wishes, Ellie regretfully grabbed her brother's tail and managed to return him to her back where Harold and Abbigail held both him and Crash back. After they were about half an hour down the road, too far for the boys to return to their girls and far enough that their incessant complaining became unbearable, Ellie gave a big sigh. _

_"Crash, Eddie, I am sorry about having to leave without them but, perhaps this is for the best, maybe this is what was supposed to happen." She said softly, hoping to cheer her brothers up while their parents took a short nap._

_"Ellie, you just don't understand!" Crash said sadly, and it was true. Since Ellie was a mammoth (She didn't know it though) none of the possum boys in their group found her attractive, and as a result, she had never been able to find a partner like her brothers had._

_"I know!" Ellie said sternly, trying but failing to hide the pain in her eyes. "But I'm just saying…"_

_"She could have come!" Eddie said._

_"Wha?" Both Ellie and Crash said, wanting to know what their brother meant._

_"Lily could have come along…" Eddie said, a bit more quietly, his voice breaking._

_"Dude, there was NO way that either of them could have come along." Crash assured his brother as Ellie continued on the path._

_"Yes there was!" Eddie shot back "I was about to ask her to be my mate, but NOO, Ellie had to grab me and stopped me from reaching her!"_

_"Well, I was about to ask Rose but dad made us leave to go get Lily!" Crash told his brother, at this statement both boys sighed and fell back onto their sister's back, looking up at the sky hopelessly. Ellie continued on, she knew that her brothers loved these girls, but she had no idea that they would have been willing to ask them to be their mates just so they could remain together. Being the hopeless romantic that she was, it took all of her willpower for Ellie to refrain from turning around so her brothers could be with their girls again. In her mind, Ellie made the decision that someday, somehow, she would help her brothers find their loves again… somehow._

A soft yet firm kick in her side woke Ellie from her thoughts; she was startled but smiled when she realized what or more precisely who it was that had kicked her. She gently stroked her large stomach to reassure the calf inside of her that she knew that it was there. Unlike most females, Ellie actually very much enjoyed being pregnant. She had always thought that it would be impossible for her to even have a child, considering the unfortunate fact that she was not a possum and that none of the possum boys were attracted to her. She smiled over at Manny as he made a snorting sound in his sleep and gave his trunk a soft squeeze with hers. Even though she knew that her life was a bit different than other creatures' she wouldn't trade it for the world.

She had a mate that she loved more than anything else in the world, her brothers, even though she now knew what she was, still accepted her as their big (both literally and figuratively) sister, she was going to have a child soon and she had two good friends who she knew would be wonderful 'uncles' for the baby mammoth when it arrived. Looking over at Manny again, Ellie frowned.

She knew that something had been bothering him ever since she declared that she was pregnant. While she was positive he was excited about being a father and would accept his new son or daughter no matter what they were like, something in her gut said that there was something that was greatly bothering her husband.

Of course, she had no idea what that thing was, because he hadn't told her.

OK, OK!!! I know I know, it stunk! This was basically a plethora of ideas that were just jumbled together in a midnight thought train story. Before you bash this story, keep in mind that it was put together AND put on this website in the course of about 3 hours, which is pretty average for me. Soo, R&R and please, If you have any ideas or things that YOU want to put up on this website, go ahead, do so! I'm sure that I would LOVE to read what is on ya'lls minds! Have a nice day and remember, if you have a secret as bad as one that Manny has above… PLEASE just tell someone!!! Thank you!

-Funkywatermelon


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